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london classic car show

This 1953 Alloy bodied 212 by Vignale was supplied new to Franco Cornacchia who had ordered the car in racing spec with sliding perspex side windows and no bumpers. Cornacchia was a Ferrari agent and also the proprietor of Scuderia Guastalla. In Franco’s hands the car won the 1953 Coppa Intereuropa at Monza. In 1954 the car was converted to 225 spec and continued to be raced until 1956.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

London Docklands was once the place where hundreds of ships carrying thousands of tons of cargo and goods from all around the globe would be unloaded at the piers.

Now it is home to the Millennium Dome, or the O2 arena as it is now called; Canary Wharf houses the merchant bankers and the ExCel Exhibition Center is a major contemporary exhibition hall with an address of the Royal Victoria Dock and where the London Classic Car Show was held on February 23-26.

The London show was actually two shows in one. The London Classic Car show features the grand avenue car parade. Across the corridor was the inaugural Historic Motorsport International show. One ticket gained access to both. [Read more…] about London Classic Car Show 2017

McLaren-F1 One of the corner stones of the show was a display in tribute to the designer Adrian Newey. Under the heading of cars that most inspired Adrian was this rather fetching McLaren F1. Described as the first properly built hypercar and the last car you could drive to Le Mans and win.

Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp

The seasonal lull for car events in the UK has just got a bit shorter following the introduction of the London Classic Car show held between the 8th and 11th January, in the Excel Center, which is located in the heart of the London Dockland area.

The show was billed as being different from the normal kind of indoor show; the difference is that many of the cars were demonstrated at the show. Down the middle of the show hall the organizers had laid out the “Grand Avenue” in which a great many of the cars on display were driven. At the top end of the Grand Avenue was a roundabout which allowed the cars to take a circular route in front of the crowd.

It was great to enjoy the sight and sound of a Maserati 250F being driven in January without having to stand frozen at a deserted race circuit. The one criticism I would have of the show was that the cars were only demonstrated twice on the day I attended. One run was in the morning and then again early on the Friday evening, by which time I was stuck in rush hour traffic on my journey home. While I didn’t get shots of the demonstration, you’ll find out what it was like if you go to their website London Classic Car Show.

Maybe next year the organizers can run the second demonstration earlier in the afternoon. The show is aiming to become the Retromobile of London and judging from what I saw I would say they are very much on track and they promise that next year it will be at least 50% bigger.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Pinin Farina. Built in 1950 this example is number 12 of 17 built. Recently imported from Southern Italy and available to purchase from Alfaholics.